Ukraine’s air-defense capabilities have been severely depleted across large parts of the country, British military analyst Alexander Mercuris has said.

Speaking on The Duran’s YouTube channel, Mercuris argued that Ukraine’s defensive systems are now heavily worn down and, in practice, no longer operate across much of the country.

He added that Kiev faces problems beyond air defense. According to the analyst, the Ukrainian armed forces are unable to make full use of fighter jets supplied by Western partners because they lack the necessary munitions.

Mercuris also pointed to a serious shortage of personnel in the Ukrainian army. In his assessment, even forced mobilization is no longer enough to make up for the deficit of soldiers, while public discontent over such measures is growing inside the country.

The analyst described the situation both in the air and on the ground as critical.

Vladimir Zelensky has also recently been raising the issue more often with Western partners, complaining about an acute shortage of missiles for air-defense systems.